An engaging, informative, and valuable contribution to the historical record.
This thorough history of the U.S. Women’s National Team centers on the players’ decadeslong battle with the U.S. Soccer Federation for pay equity.
Rusch tells the story chronologically and enriches her writing with clever soccer-inspired language. She uses well-cited primary and secondary research to highlight voices and stories from the racially diverse (though majority-white) group of athletes. The thrilling accounts of memorable moments on the pitch vividly contrast with the crushing realities of the team members’ unfair treatment by their employer. Though the book includes multiple perspectives and opinions, the featured narratives and examples pertaining to the team’s salary, working conditions, and more make a compelling case in favor of the women athletes. The text shows the players’ successes, letdowns, solidarity building, and resolve with depth and honesty. The team’s collective bargaining and legal processes are clarified in detail, offering important context and informing readers’ understanding beyond the world of soccer. While individual players receive the spotlight, the focus remains on the entire team’s shared risk-taking and their commitment to present and future generations of players worldwide. Rusch notes gender diversity beyond the male-female binary in passing. The broader conversations and accounts relating to gender equity and equal pay are expansive, however, encouraging readers to learn more and get involved in this global issue.
An engaging, informative, and valuable contribution to the historical record. (source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 13-18)Pub Date: July 9, 2024
ISBN: 9780063220904
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future.
An adaptation for teens of the adult title A Queer History of the United States (2011).
Divided into thematic sections, the text filters LGBTQIA+ history through key figures in each era from the 1500s to the present. Alongside watershed moments like the 1969 Stonewall uprising and the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the text brings to light less well-known people, places, and events: the 1625 free love colony of Merrymount, transgender Civil War hero Albert D.J. Cashier, and the 1951 founding of the Mattachine Society, to name a few. Throughout, the author and adapter take care to use accurate pronouns and avoid imposing contemporary terminology onto historical figures. In some cases, they quote primary sources to speculate about same-sex relationships while also reminding readers of past cultural differences in expressing strong affection between friends. Black-and-white illustrations or photos augment each chapter. Though it lacks the teen appeal and personable, conversational style of Sarah Prager’s Queer, There, and Everywhere (2017), this textbook-level survey contains a surprising amount of depth. However, the mention of transgender movements and activism—in particular, contemporary issues—runs on the slim side. Whereas chapters are devoted to over 30 ethnically diverse gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer figures, some trans pioneers such as Christine Jorgensen and Holly Woodlawn are reduced to short sidebars.
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future. (glossary, photo credits, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8070-5612-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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